It’s starting again from Parma. A new adventure for Roberto Mancini’s Italy side who, after the Winter break and just less than three months from the first game of the Euros, are soon to be back playing but with the objective of paving the way as best as possible for the Qatar World Cup. Tomorrow at the Tardini against Northern Ireland (20:45 CET) the Azzurri will seek to carry on their unbeaten streak of 22 games (17 victories and five draws) in the first of three legs which will see the side away from home facing off against Bulgaria and Lithuania, in that order.

“The first game is the most difficult,” Mancini warned in a press conference, “because it is coming five months after the last one and because Northern Ireland are the most dangerous side of the three. They’re not an easy side to play against, they’re physically strong and their team is made up of lots of Premier League players. We know that you can’t ever make mistakes in the path to the World Cup, we will have to do all that is within our power in these three matches. We will have to be very attentive and focussed. It’s always best to hit the ground running, we represent a great national side that has four World Cups to its name.

Mancini expects the utmost concentration levels from the Azzurri. The coach bet on a large group and today, on the eve of the World Cup qualifiers, he has no doubts about the team. “There’s maybe just one,” he admits, “we’re evaluating a few things. Today we got a few Inter lads, we’ll have a look at the bench. We have three matches scheduled and it’s important to let the boys recover, they are in the midst of a very tiring season, you can’t make the same footballer play three games in a row. They are all quality players and they will be rotated.”

He carried on: “We’ll see how Sensi is, he only arrived today. Locatelli is of course more solid in theory, Barella can play from the kick-off. Kean on the other hand was really tired, I think it’s because he’s recovering from Covid. Just like PSG, we are of the mind to let him rest properly.”

 

Mancini, with 61 points to his name so far, is at the top of the coach rankings after 27 games played, mentioned Northern Ireland again: “They are a typically British side, they are good on the counter-attack. They have Anglo-Saxon physicality, but their style of play is a bit different, they defend very well and hold their ground, they are great on the counter-attack. We can’t take risks, there won’t be much space to manoeuvre, especially at the beginning.

 

Giorgio Chiellini had no doubts. “We are not risking complacency in this game,” he declared, “we got burnt a few years ago and we understand the importance of the match. We can’t slip up, it’ll be difficult for various reasons but it’s a match that we need to win. It is a team that is diametrically opposed to us with regards to our characteristics, if they manage to curb us they will become dangerous. But our energy is magical, being here revitalises you. It’s great to see this team grow, the best thing that I’ve noticed in these two great past years is that we are all interchangeable. The team has always done well, it means that when you work there is a common, base-level understanding that everyone has.”

Tomorrow evening in Parma Italy will go out onto the pitch with bands on their arms and there will be a minute’s silence in memory of the five Azzurri players who passed away in recent months: Pietro Anastasi, Mauro Bellugi, Mario Corso, Pierino Prati and Paolo Rossi. There will be a video on the main screen in memory of these Azzurri, who will also be commemorated via the virtual graphic that will be visible to those watching on television.

Player List

Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino);
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Emerson Palmieri (Chelsea), Gian Marco Ferrari (Sassuolo), Alessandro Florenzi (Paris Saint Germain), Manuel Lazzari (Lazio), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma), Rafael Toloi (Atalanta);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Gaetano Castrovilli (Fiorentina), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Rolando Mandragora (Torino), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Matteo Ricci (Spezia), Stefano Sensi (Inter), Roberto Soriano (Bologna), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain);
Attackers: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Francesco Caputo (Sassuolo), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Vincenzo Grifo (Friburgo), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli).

 

Schedule

(All times are CET unless otherwise indicated) 

Wednesday 24 March

11:00  – Departure from Florence to Parma 

17:30 – ITALY press conference (Tardini/Parma)                                                        

18:00 – ITALY training (first 15 mins open to the press) (Tardini/Parma)                  

19:30 – Northern Ireland press conference (Tardini/Parma)

Thursday 25 March

20:45 - ITALY vs Northern Ireland (Tardini/Parma). Followed by a press conference

Friday 26 March

11:00 – Training** (closed to the press) (Tardini/Parma)

12:30 – Player press conference (Tardini/Parma)

Saturday 27 March

10:30 – Departure from Parma to Sofia 

11:00 – Bulgaria press conference (Boyana National Football Center)

11:30 - Bulgaria training session (first 15 minutes open to the press) (Boyana National Football Center)                                                                                                                    

18:00 – ITALY press conference (Vasil Levksi stadium/Sofia)

18:30 – ITALY training (first 15 minutes open to the press) (Vasil Levski stadium/Sofia)

Sunday 28 March

20:45 – Bulgaria vs ITALY (Vasil Levski stadium/Sofia). Followed by a press conference

Monday 29 March

11:30 CEST – Training (closed to the press)

Tuesday 30 March

10:45 CEST – Departure from Sofia to Vilnius

16:30 CEST – Lithuania press conference *** (LFF Stadium/Vilnius)

17:00 CEST – Lithuania training (first 15 minutes open to the press) (LFF Stadium/Vilnius)  

17:30 CEST – ITALY press conference (LFF Stadium/Vilnius)

18:00 CEST – ITALY training session (first 15 minutes open to the press) (LFF Stadium/Vilnius)

Wednesday 31 March

20:45 CEST – Lithuania vs ITALY (LFF Stadium/Vilnius). Followed by a press conference and return to respective HQs.

** access to the press isn’t expected, FIGC will produce and distribute images after the first 15 minutes.

*** access to the press conference lobby will be limited to a reduced number of press people. The images will be visible on screens around the stadium